Douglas C-124

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
US Air Force C-124C
Type:	Transport plane
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Douglas Aircraft Company
First flight:	November 27, 1949
Commissioning:	1950
Production time:	1949 to 1955
Number of pieces:	448

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II

Cockpit of a Douglas C-124 Globemaster II

Unloading a C-124 (1950)

The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II was a heavy transport aircraft of the United States Air Force .

development

The C-124 was further developed from the C-74 Globemaster after the experiences of the Berlin Airlift . It had a large cargo door in the bow with a hydraulically lowerable ramp and a cargo elevator in the stern. In the loading bay, which is 23.5 meters long, there were two cranes that could each lift seven tons of load.

In the freight version, it could transport a payload of 31,100 kg, including tanks, trucks and guns, for example, without having to be significantly dismantled and dismantled.
In the passenger version, either 200 fully equipped soldiers or 127 patients on stretchers including their companions could be transported.

After the first flight of the prototype C-124 on November 27, 1949, delivery of the production models
C-124A (204 pieces) began in May 1950.
This was followed by the C-124C (243 pieces) with more powerful engines and a "thimble-shaped" nose radar.
By 1955, a total of 448 copies were delivered to the Air Force.

They were used for heavy lift flights around the world, including during the Vietnam War, until they were handed over to the Air National Guard in 1970 . In September 1974 the last machines were taken out of service.

production

Acceptance of the C-124 by the USAF:

version	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	TOTAL	PRICE
C-124A	26th	57	121				204	$ 1,780,947
YC-124B					1		1
C-124C				125	95	23	243	$ 1,646,406
TOTAL	26th	57	121	125	96	23	448

Incidents

From 1951 to the end of its mission in September 1974, the USAF, the only operator of this type, suffered 62 total losses of the C-124. In 38 of them, 590 people were killed. Examples:

• On March 23, 1951, a C-124A (registration number 49-0244 ) had an accident about 720 km west of Shannon , Ireland in the North Atlantic. All nine crew members and 44 passengers died.

• On May 23, 1951, a C-124A (registration number 49-0232 ) burned out. Near New Lisbon, Indiana, she collided with a tree while attempting to make an emergency landing, fell into a field and caught fire. Seven of the twelve crew members died.

• On November 22, 1952, a C-124A (registration number 51-0107 ) crashed on the flight to the Elmendorf base around 90 km east of the city of Anchorage in the mountains of Alaska. All 52 inmates were killed. Rescuers who were only able to get near the crash site at the end of 1952 found nothing. The wreck sank in a glacier; The first parts came to light in 2012 about 20 kilometers away from the site of the accident. In June 2014, more than 60 years after the crash, 17 bodies were recovered and identified.

• On December 20, 1952, a C-124A (50-0100) overturned and caught fire while taking off from Larson Air Force Base , Moses Lake , Washington . The rudder locks on the elevator and rudder had not been deactivated before take-off, so that the machine could not be steered. Of the 115 people on board, 87 died and only 28 survived.

• On June 18, 1953, a C-124A (51-0137) had an accident shortly after taking off from Tachikawa Air Base near Tokyo , caused by an engine failure . Incorrect operation of the landing flaps then led to a loss of speed, the plane got out of control, crashed into a watermelon field and immediately caught fire. She was supposed to fly to Seoul-Gimpo with 122 passengers . All 129 people on board died in the worst accident of a C-124.

• On January 15, 1957, a C-124A (registration number 52-1027 ) was destroyed when two maintenance hangars burned out at McChord Air Force Base . The people present were able to save themselves in time.

• On February 22, 1957, a propeller blade came loose from a C-124A (51-0141) when taking off from Seoul-Gimpo Airport, penetrated the fuselage, tore the control cables of the ailerons and rudder and killed four passengers. Another propeller blade hit the neighboring engine and put it out of operation. The only option was the emergency landing on a sandbank of the Han River, with the upper deck breaking through below. The plane was to fly to Tachikawa Air Base near Tokyo with 149 passengers ; 21 of the 159 people on board were killed.

• On July 6, 1959 crashed in the US a C-124A (Code 49-0254 ) with a nuclear weapon on board shortly after taking off from Barksdale Air Force Base ( Louisiana ) from; the plane was completely destroyed. There was a low level of radioactive contamination of the area.

• On January 9, 1961, a C-124C (registration number 52-0969 ) flew too low on approach to Spangdahlem Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate , collided with trees and crashed onto the airfield. The cause was an incorrect setting of the altimeter by the pilots . All 15 occupants survived, but the aircraft was ready for scrap.

• On May 24, 1961, a C-124A (registration number 51-0174 ) with 16 soldiers as passengers, a truck, jeep and two trailers on board crashed shortly after taking off from McChord Air Force Base . 18 of the 22 occupants were killed, including the entire six-person crew. The plane was destroyed.

• On May 3, 1972, a C-124C (registration number 52-1055 ) flew 68 km southeast of Suriname / Zanderij airport into a hill. The plane was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Memphis (Tennessee) with a stopover in Zanderij. All 11 people on board were killed.

Technical specifications

• Crew: 6
• Length: 39.76 m
• Wingspan: 53.09 m
• Height: 14.72 m
• Empty weight: 45,984 kg
• Max. Takeoff weight: 98,409 kg
• Engines: 4 × 28-cylinder quadruple radial engine Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major, each with 3,800 PS (2,834 kW)
• Top speed: 489 km / h
• Range: 3,500 km
• Service ceiling: 10,400 m

See also

List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : Douglas C-124 Globemaster II  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Douglas C-124 Globemaster in the Aviation Safety Network

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1949 , p. 164 f .; 1951, p. 158; 1952, p. 158; 1953, p. 185; 1954, p. 70; 1955, p. 80; 1958, p. 83 f.
2. ↑ Douglas C-124 loss statistics , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on May 13, 2017.
3. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report C-124A 49-0244 in the Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on May 13, 2017.
4. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report C-124A 49-0232 in the Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on May 13, 2017.
5. ↑ accident report C-124A 51-0107 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed October 24, 2015.
6. ↑ Crash victims recovered after more than 60 years. In: The world. Retrieved December 23, 2014 . 
7. ↑ accident report C-124A 50-0100 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed October 24, 2015.
8. ↑ accident report C-124A 51-0137 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 15 August 2016th
9. ↑ accident report C-124C 52-1027 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 11 December 2018th
10. ↑ accident report C-124A 51-0141 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on May 13, 2017th
11. ↑ accident report C-124A 49-0254 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 11 December 2018th
12. ↑ accident report C-124C 52-0969 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on May 13, 2017th
13. ↑ accident report C-124A 51-0174 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 11 December 2018th
14. ↑ accident report C-124C 52-1055 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on May 13, 2017th